The legislation regarding Shared Parental Leave is currently with Parliament and it is believed it will come into effect from 1 December 2014.
Recent Survey
Recent figures suggest that out of 60 companies that were surveyed 11 percent stated that they had not started planning for the new ruling and 54 percent said they were still thinking about it! report
It is expected that the first notices informing employers of their employees eligibility for Shared Parental Leave or their plans to curtail their maternity leave could be served in January 2015.
Shared Parental Leave has been designed to allow more flexibility for eligible parents to share statutory leave and pay on the birth of a child, and this change in legislation will apply to babies due on or born after 5 April 2015.
Good practice guide
ACAS have produced a good practice guide to Shared Parental Leave, ACAS guide, which will explain the process and procedure and should help you to understand this new right. So whilst we await the legislation to be agreed these steps may help you so you can be prepared when an employee comes to talk to you about a request to take Maternity Leave.
- Familiarise yourself with the ACAS guidance so you are aware of Shared Parental Leave and how this may effect you.
- Open discussions with your employee to find out what their intentions are (they may not have heard of Shared Parental leave).
- Once the legislation is agreed ensure you look out for the QCS policy explaining the Shared Parental leave process.
Having read the ACAS code of practice thoroughly, I would advise this may require being read a number of times before you enter into conversations with your employees.
Anita Manfredi of Employer Solutions – QCS HR Expert Contributor
